


Mitigating Circumstances

by Manager_of_Mischief



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Sorcery School, Angst, Asgard, Asgard (Marvel), Coming of Age, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hate to Love, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Long, Love Triangle, Love/Hate, Pre-Thor (2011), Seidr, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Thor (Marvel) is too confident, sorcery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-07-03 11:12:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15817734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manager_of_Mischief/pseuds/Manager_of_Mischief
Summary: Cathrein Teronia is thrust into a whole new world of politics when she receives a merit scholarship to the Royal Academy of Asgard. Thor is a confident warrior, Loki has issues, Amora is a bitch, Frigga keeps everyone sane, and Cathrein tries to balance diplomacy and self-advocacy. Odin, of course, ruins everything.





	1. Welcome to Politics

**Author's Note:**

> Warning(s): mild verbal bullying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A _Mean Girls_ style introduction to The Royal Academy.

“You can’t.”

Cathrein Teronia was used to her father’s stubbornness, but the words still stung. She looked down at the letter in her hands, which promised a full scholarship to the seidr sorcery program at the prestigious Royal Academy right in the center of Asgard’s Palace District. The question on her lips died as she watched her father’s face, but he knew what she would have asked anyway.

“Your brother can’t hunt worth a damn. We need you to keep our family afloat.”

He had a point. The family hunting and butchering business held her brother’s name—Raolon Teronia Exotic Meats—but the actual work mostly fell on Cathrein. Women weren’t allowed to wield the heavy longbows required for hunting, so she got creative. She would lace the entrails of previously caught animals with a strong sleeping potion. When the giant bilgesnipes ate the entrails, they fell asleep, and her brother could come in and shoot them point blank in the head.

“Mother didn’t teach me seidr so that Raolon would look like a good hunter,” she countered. “She did it so that I could make my own way.”

Her father looked pensive. She knew that using her mother’s dying wishes were a low blow, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she just had to take it.

“I could advertise us to potential buyers,” she added. “Rich buyers. Maybe even aristocrats. Royalty! Think of the possibilities! I could come back and start my own potion shop. Potions are expensive nowadays, so it would bring in more money for the family.”

She was rambling and she knew it, but her father seemed to genuinely consider the offer. After a long sigh, he relented.

“Fine. You can go to the posh little Royal Academy if you want. But I’ll have Raolon hunt you down if it means we die of starvation.”

 _I don’t think he could hunt me down if he tried_ , she thought, but she knew better than to anger her father after such a precariously made decision.

* * *

The rest of her time in Illisk, the tiny village she had lived in the for her entire childhood, was a blur. It felt like she arrived only moments after her conversation with her father, which was probably true because she had arrived via a teleportation spell cast by Frigga herself. The allmother had taken it upon herself to find talent even in the poorest of villages, and had a particular attachment to all of the scholarship recipients. Upon her arrival, Cathrein was immediately subjected to a barrage of placement tests, which evaluated her knowledge of every branch of seidr. She flew through the potions placement and successfully executed all of the energy projections demanded of her. Her confidence grew until the teleportation section, where she faced the embarrassment of sheepishly telling a stern professor that she had never learned the skill and would not even know where to begin. The professor sighed.

“Year three, advanced track,” he said simply and waved her out of the room.

She nodded and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She walked out to find Frigga smiling at her.

“I’m impressed,” the allmother said. “Most of the scholarship recipients place slightly below their peers simply due to their lack of previous education.”

“My mother taught me well.”

She was then handed off to a third year student to become acquainted with the school and its facilities. This student’s curly red hair bounced along with her as she took long strides with her long legs to meet Cathrein, who quickly found herself enveloped in a clumsy but sweet hug. That was how Cathrein Teronia met her first friend.

“Hi, I’m Daphne and I’m here to ‘familiarize you with the Academy,’ as they say. But because I’m a good friend I’m going to tell you all the stuff they don’t want you to know. Firstly, the professors are all strict. They only like the good students, but you’re advanced track so that probably won’t matter because they’ll like you. Secondly—and more importantly, stay away from Amora. You’ll see her radiating beauty and class from miles away.”

“Why do I need to stay away from her?”

“She hates the scholarship kids. That’s you by the way. And she’s untouchable.”

“No one’s untouchable.”

“She’s Loki’s girlfriend.”

_Oh. Untouchable. Got it._

“Ok, so now that the main seidr program things are out of the way, let me tell you about the warrior program at the Academy. That’s where they train Asgard’s fighters. Don’t worry, everyone there is super nice. And strong. Just talk to them about fighting and you’ll get on like a house on fire. That’s a good thing. You have to talk to them. They’re your best allies against Loki and Amora. If you’re friends with the warriors you’re not untouchable, per se, but you’re supported. You’ll have a place to shelter if things get bad. I’m personally friends with Thor and Sif so you can also stick with me and we’ll be safe together.”

Cathrein nodded along to the monologue. After a few more minutes of introduction, Daphne checked the time, let out a small gasp, and apologized profusely for being a horrible guide as she rushed Cathrein to her energy projections class. As luck would have it, the only seat left was right next to a beautiful blonde with a slim figure adorned with designer jewelry. On the other side of her was the raven-haired prince of Asgard. She scooted closer to him and shot Cathrein the most contemptuous look she had ever seen. Cathrein calmly walked over took the seat.

_If I can ignore all the people congratulating Raolon on his kills, I can ignore Amora._

“There has got to be a mistake,” Amora snapped as the professor stood to begin the class. “This is advanced energy projections. Not the normal class. She should be next door.”

The professor brushed off her comment. “Cathrein, right?”

Cathrein confirmed his statement.

“Her name is listed here, so we’re going to begin.” Looking specifically at her, he added, “If you feel at all confused or behind please let the registrar know and we can switch you, ok?”

The first topic of the day was projecting shields which prevented the passage of sound. The professor started off asking if any of the students knew how to make such a shield. Loki and Amora both raised their hands with a smug look on their faces.

“Anyone else?” asked the professor.

Cathrein flipped quickly through her textbook, and raised her hand once she reached the chapter on the subject.

“I can try,” she said.

Amora silently judged while Cathrein scanned the page as quickly as she could, trying to see how the different components of the projection fit together. She reached out her hands and made her first attempt. The shield flickered into existence for less than a second before fading. Amora rolled her eyes.

“Very good attempt, Cathrein. You have the focus, but not the intention,” the professor commented. The class seemed to let out a sigh of disappointment? Relief?

_I had it. I made the shield. That’s better than most of the other people in this room._

At this point, Amora spoke up again. “As I said, she shouldn’t be in this class.”

Cathrein realized in that moment that she could be the best student in the class but no one would respect her if they couldn’t see what she was capable of. It would be Illisk all over again.

_I taught you seidr so that you could make your own way._

Cathrein formed another shield, pouring her anger into it. It enveloped Amora, who seemed to gasp in surprise—but of course, no one could hear it. Cathrein dropped the shield after the professor yelled her name and told her to see him after class.

That was how Cathrein Teronia met her first enemy.


	2. How To Make an Alliance (and How Not To)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cathrein breaks all of the unspoken rules of the seidr program at the Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): swearing

For all of the briefing Daphne had done, she had forgotten to mention one crucial rule. Well, she had mentioned it somewhere in her long rambling descriptions of the Academy, but it had slipped Cathrein’s mind by the time she arrived in her energy projections class.

Never use your seidr on another person without their consent.

That rule had been invoked immediately following the “Amora incident,” entering Cathrein into the elite club of individuals who received a detention slip on their first day at the Academy. The slip told her to skip dinner and go to the library to await further instructions. She tucked it into her pocket with a hint of defiance.

_Worth it. Worth it? Worth it._

She had skipped a fair share of meals in her days in Illisk due to financial issues. This was going to be a walk in the park—or, well, the library.

The rest of her classes were more or less uneventful. She made sure to arrive early and select a seat far away from Amora, and her last class was travel sorcery, the only class where she placed into the normal track as opposed to the advanced one.

After classes, the students were granted a short reprieve in their dormitories before returning to the main hall for dinner. When Cathrein opened the door to her room for the first time, she was unsurprised to find that Daphne was her roommate.

“So, how was your first day?” Daphne asked.

“Amora was… difficult, but I handled it,” Cathrein replied after some deliberation.

“But did the profs like you?” her friend probed.

“I guess. Except the energy projections one—”

“Really, his class is the easiest one!”

“Yeah, but I made a sound shield around Amora after she told me I wasn’t good enough and that apparently broke one of the cardinal rules of the Academy or something.”

Daphne gaped at her like a fish.

“Have you forgotten everything I’ve told you?” she finally gasped out after her moment of shock. “You just broke all of the unspoken rules of the seidr program at the Academy. And you can’t fight Amora. You can’t defy her. She’s untouchable, remember? She’s courting a prince of Asgard!”

“No one’s untouchable,” came Cathrein’s soft reply.

“Come on, Cathy. We need to find you some warrior friends as quickly as possible. The best we can do for you is damage control. We’ll have dinner with Thor and Sif and I can introduce you.”

“I can’t. I have detention. I have to skip dinner to go to the library.”

“By the norns, Cathy, I can’t fix everything. You need to stop making enemies. Sit back and ignore the bullies. It’s the only way you’ll survive this.”

“I have to go. See you after dinner.”

With that, she started down the hall leading away from the dormitories, only to realize that she had no idea where the library was. However, her pride prevented her from running back to Daphne, who would undoubtedly take every possible opportunity to reaffirm her superior knowledge of the workings of the Academy. Ultimately, Cathrein decided that whenever she saw a student, she would make a turn away from them, trying to look as confident as possible as she wandered purposefully through the Academy. This endeavor yielded less-than-ideal results.

_Time to ask for help. I’ll ask the next student I see. I’m new, I’ll probably never see them again. It’s fine. And everyone needs help every once in a while. “Excuse me, where is the library?” Easy enough._

It would have been easy enough if the next student she saw wasn’t His Royal Highness, Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard.

“Lost?” he asked with a wry smirk.

“Absolutely not,” she replied, continuing on with long strides.

“Skipping detention, are we?” his voice was smoothly sarcastic as he called out to her.

“No,” she said flippantly.

“Library’s that way,” he deadpanned, gesturing in the opposite direction.

“I’m taking the long way.”

“That’s a dead end.”

_Shit._

“You’re going to be late if you don’t start walking in the right direction,” he said.

She sighed and begrudgingly turned around to follow him.

“I usually teleport to where I need to go,” he explained as they walked. “You should be honored I took the time and effort to escort you.”

_Fuck you._

“Then why even bother?”

“Would you rather I hadn’t?”

The rest of the walk took place in silence. They arrived at the library just in time, and the attending librarian nodded to them. Their task was simple: re-shelve several carts of recently returned books. There was no time limit to the objective; they could leave once the carts were done. Before Cathrein could even touch a single book, they vanished from the carts in a crackle of seidr.

“I have teleported all of the books back to their appropriate locations,” Loki explained to the librarian, who seemed more defeated than surprised. “Anything else?”

“You must stay until after dinner.”

“You clearly stated—”

“It matters not what I stated. It only matters what I state, and I state that you will stay until after dinner.”

“That statement constitutes an ex post facto, which is prohibited in the Asgardian Code of Law,” Cathrein interjected, looking up from a law book she had just pulled off of a shelf.

The librarian glared at her and Loki looked her up and down as if reappraising her.

“The administration of the Royal Academy needs not adhere to the Asgardian Code of Law. That only applies to the central government,” the librarian countered. “My word is final. You must stay here until the end of dinner.”

Cathrein gingerly placed the law book back in its spot and walked off to the travel sorcery section. Loki followed at a meandering pace, half-heartedly pretending to be interested in various books along the way. He watched as she finally selected a title: The Beginner’s Guide to Teleportation. She flipped through the first few pages of explanation until she reached the part actually describing how to complete the spell. Narrowing her eyes in intense focus, she stared at a spot on the floor, only a couple of meters away from where she stood. After a few moments, she shook her head and tried again, looking at an even closer spot.

“Perhaps you should wait until it’s covered in class,” Loki offered after her fifth attempt and failure.

“I want to learn this. Besides, I have nothing better to do right now,” she replied and tried again.

She was pushing her seidr so much he could feel the power radiating from her, but her attempts yielded no results. He observed for a while longer before teleporting to the spot she was staring at, picking up the book, and telekinetically replacing it on the shelf. She glared at him in indignation while he smirked smugly.

“You don’t need to add insult to injury,” she growled.

“Oh, but I want to.”

After what felt like an eternity of awkward silence, the librarian notified them that they were free to go. Loki, of course, disappeared without a trace. As for Cathrein, Daphne was waiting outside for her with Thor and Sif in tow. She introduced them in her typical verbose manner and conversation flowed more or less smoothly on their way back to the dormitories. Sif had already established herself not only as one of the strongest female warriors, but also as one of the best warriors in the warrior program at the Academy, and Thor had achieved ultimate recognition as the winner of their preliminary ranking tournament. They were fourth-years, but Daphne’s unwavering interest in their overdramatized tellings of war tales had compelled them into an unlikely friendship. Cathrein told them of Illisk: of hunting bilgesnipes and longbows as tall as a man. She was very quickly accepted into the group.

When they arrived at the dormitories, Sif promised to have them meet the warriors three, and Thor said goodbye by kissing Cathrein’s hand and calling her “my lady.” Daphne obsessed over his choice of words for the rest of the night.

“You’re not a lady, but Thor called you one. That means he likes you! His Royal Highness Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard likes you!”

_Marrying a prince would definitely quash all of my father’s concerns about my education not being beneficial to our family._

Cathrein smiled and let Daphne’s enthusiasm carry her along. It was almost enough to make her completely forget about Amora. And Loki.


	3. The Pros and Cons of Neutrality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cathrein tries to play politics, but politics wins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): mentions of bullying

Cathrein was one of the first to arrive at breakfast. She piled everything she could see onto her plate, partly because she was hungry from having skipped dinner, but also because she had never even considered the idea of free food to be a possibility in any of the nine realms. Many of the other students, particularly the younger ones, stared at her as she did so. It was awfully unladylike behavior, after all.

Daphne, Thor, Sif, and the warriors three joined her at the table she had selected shortly after.

“I heard you made a sound shield around Amora,” said Thor after a few moments of settling and awkward silence.

“I did. I’ve been told that it was a bad idea,” came Cathrein’s reply.

“I thought it most honorable,” Thor responded with a smile. “Perhaps you should join us as warriors. You have the strength for it.”

“I really don’t, and my scholarship is for the seidr program.”

“Well you’re always welcome to come spar with us.”

Sif looked up at Thor in surprise when he spoke. He only ever wished to spar with opponents he deemed worthy, and Cathrein was clearly too small to inflict any real damage on him.

“Only if I can use my seidr,” Cathrein decided.

They talked some more and ate their breakfast as a group. Thor had brought his hammer to the dining room, which the two sorceresses found hilarious. He tossed it and whirled it around for all to see as the professors looked on from their table disapprovingly. It was only a matter of time before Amora made her opinions on his display clear.

“The mighty Thor, resorting to dancing around with his hammer and sitting with pathetic little scholarship sorceresses. Who still thinks this one’s going to be King of Asgard?”

“I am undefeated in the arena. I am simply displaying this beautiful weapon for all to see,” Thor replied, then sat down, placing Mjolnir back under the table.

“You could have thrown it at her head and called it back at the last minute,” Cathrein said quietly once the other students had returned to their previous conversations.

Thor looked at her. “See, that’s why she should become a warrior.”

“And the fact that she’s not a warrior is why she should leave it. Don’t give Amora the satisfaction,” Daphne pleaded, looking at Cathrein. “Just ignore her. You have us now.”

* * *

Cathrein heeded her newfound friends’ advice for the day. Amora never stopped making jibes, but Cathrein forced herself to ignore them. She never once showed off her abilities in class, quietly making small versions of the spells under her desk instead of volunteering to demonstrate. The day was productive, and she left each classroom with one or two new spells added to her arsenal.

_I’m getting what I need from this. That’s all that matters._

When Cathrein arrived at her room, she was greeted by an enthusiastic Daphne thrusting an envelope labeled “URGENT” in her face. She eagerly took the envelope and tore it open with a precise slice of energy.

“Your peer tutor request form has been received and processed by the Academic Help Center. Please meet your randomly assigned tutor in the library after your last class of today.”

Cathrein studied the letter quizzically. She had made no such request and was in no need of tutoring, but she made her way to the library nonetheless.

“Fancy seeing you here again so soon,” came the smooth drawl she immediately recognized from the previous evening.

“What is the meaning of this?” she snapped, turning around to face Loki. “Did you write a peer tutor request on my behalf just to mock me?”

His expression was not one of smugness, but of surprise. The librarian immediately raised her finger to her lips and shushed them, so he took her hand and dragged her behind a bookcase to continue the conversation.

“If I were to do such a thing, I would have stated that you needed help on teleportation, not energy projections. You’re probably the best energy projector in our entire year, myself excluded, of course.”

It was her turn to be surprised.

_Did he notice the little demonstrations under my desk? Or did he say that just to throw me off?_

“Although,” he continued after her expression faded, “I have some suspicions on who the culprit might have been, though I doubt she would have even considered that I would be the one paired with you.”

_Amora._

Cathrein let the thought float around for a few moments before purposefully heading toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Loki hissed, grabbing her wrist.

“Returning the favor.”

He didn’t let go of her wrist, so she twisted her arm against his grip.

“It may sound like a cliché, but revenge really is a dish best served cold. There is no satisfaction in something as petty as returning the favor of a falsified peer tutoring request,” he explained, loosening his grip.

“Then what exactly do you suggest I do?” she asked, voice dripping with spite.

“Perhaps you could take advantage of this fortuitous opportunity. You want to learn teleportation, do you not?”

“Not from you, I don’t.”

“I know exactly what you’re doing wrong.” The smirk on his face was one of total victory and control, but as much as she hated it, she wanted to learn. She had been trying since before arriving at the Academy, and if she turned down his offer she would undoubtedly be trying until the day the professor of her standard, non-accelerated travel seidr class broke down the spell in extremely simple terms over the course of a week.

“Then what, exactly, am I doing wrong?” She tried to inject as much poison into the statement as possible, but it came out like the resignation it was.

Again, it was an issue of intention. She had gathered the energy for the teleportation but couldn’t channel it into what she wanted. After all that time staring at random spots several meters away, she hadn’t really wanted to be there. Taking one step to her destination took less energy than a teleportation; standing still took even less. With that in mind, she closed her eyes, focused her energy, and let her mind take her where she wanted to go.

_Not Illisk. Not my room. Not—_

With a whoosh, she felt the universe shift around her. It was the same feeling she had experienced when she was teleported from Illisk to the Academy. She opened her eyes to find her face inches away from Loki’s chest.

_He’s actually quite handsome if you don’t consider who he is. Wait. No. Nononono._

Within moments, she had a blade of pure, focused energy pointed at his throat.

“Tell Amora to back off,” she said, with as much courage as she could muster. She closed her eyes again and let her embarrassment fuel the teleport that took her back into the safety of her room.

Daphne shrieked when she arrived and immediately asked what the letter had been about.

“Nothing. Just some administrative paperwork for my scholarship.”

“So since when did you know how to teleport?”

“I’ve wanted to learn for a while. I just finally figured out the last piece today,” Cathrein replied.

They continued with small conversation until it was time for dinner. They made their way down to the main hall and sat with Thor and his warrior friends, who immediately told them about all of the “battles” they had fought that day. Cathrein told them that she had not fought any battles that day. She had completely ignored all of Amora’s comments, which made it technically true. Daphne beamed at her with pride and the warriors three all agreed that she had made a good decision not to engage in not-so-civil discourse with her worst enemy. Thor looked as if he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted when Sif started off on another tale of her valiant fighting. When the turn for storytelling fell on Thor again, he told the story of how he saved a damsel in distress from a rampaging bilgesnipe back when he was still a first-year at the Academy. He looked at Cathrein the entire time he told the story.

After dinner, as the students dispersed toward their respective dormitories, Thor stopped Cathrein with a tap on her shoulder.

“You are a beautiful woman with great strength. You have been an excellent friend but I would like us to be something more,” he stated. The students who hadn’t left the room all turned to see what would happen next.

“Is this an offer for courtship?” Cathrein asked, bewildered.

_I’ve only met you what, yesterday? And I still can’t tell if you see me as a would-be warrior or a damsel in distress._

“Yes. I, Prince Thor Odinson of Asgard, wish to court you.”


	4. Summits and Conferences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cathrein rationalizes literally everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): swearing

“I would have killed you if you hadn’t accepted his offer,” Daphne said, dead serious, as she and Cathrein entered their room.

“Well, then, I’m glad I didn’t,” Cathrein replied with a shrug.

“Cathy, where is the enthusiasm? You are courting Thor. I would die to be in your shoes.”

“Daphne, I don’t do head over heels. I’m excited and I know that I am in an enviable position, but I am not you. I have never been one to jump up and down in glee over anything.”

“Well, if you aren’t emotionally attached to your first official date tomorrow, can you let me pick your outfit?” Daphne asked.

They spent the rest of the night in a forced debate about the merits of various decidedly mediocre dresses. Daphne would list the pros and cons of each cheaply made dress bought at Illisk’s discount dress shop, and Cathrein would groan and ask her to just make a choice. They finally settled on a simple black dress that hung loosely, for maximum mobility. After all, it was Thor, and he was bound to choose an activity that involved some amount of physical exercise.

_ I can’t believe I have a best friend, a worst enemy, and a boyfriend within two days of arriving here. _

“You know, Cathy, I think you might just be the luckiest woman on Asgard. You may even be the luckiest woman in all nine realms,” Daphne declared, the fatigue evident in her voice. It was technically already Saturday at this point.

“I’m just glad the first day of classes was a Thursday. I would die if I had to wake up early tomorrow,” Cathrein replied before flicking off the lights and going to sleep.

* * *

Thor met Cathrein outside the entrance to the dormitories. He had planned to take her on a walk around the Academy grounds, then have lunch with her. Cathrein couldn’t hide her mild disappointment. Fourth-years had the privilege of being able to leave the Academy grounds without supervision. This was because most—if not all—fourth-years had already passed the name day required to reach adulthood. This was also the day on which titles were assigned. The news of Thor being named the God of Thunder had spread quickly through Asgard on his name day just over a year ago.

_If he’s the God of Thunder, why are his abilities lightning-related? The thunder is the sound that comes after._

Cathrein would have said something if it weren’t for the fact that courting a prince would be the best thing to ever happen to her. She needed this date to go absolutely perfectly for her own sanity and personal gain, so she put on her most charming persona and kept up with his long strides up to the top of the tallest hill on campus.

“I’m honored to be here. Do you have any more stories from your adventures on the battlefield?” she began. The best part about Thor was that he was perfectly predictable. The day when Thor ran out of battle stories would be the day on which Ragnarok completed.

He immediately launched into a tale from his second-year hunting trip, and Cathrein nodded along.

_He’s actually a very good storyteller._

The lunch went by without a hitch. Cathrein couldn’t get a word in edgewise, but part of her was grateful for it. She knew nothing of intentional conflict and the honor that came with Thor’s background. Her entire existence had been distinctly lacking in both topics, due to the fact that she was both a woman and the best hunter in her family. Thor had introduced her to a completely new way of seeing the world.

When the food was finished, they parted ways. Thor was reluctant to let Cathrein go, giving her a lingering kiss on the back of her hand, but Cathrein’s seidr was practically sparking from disuse by then. She hadn’t cast a single spell the entire day. The process of turning away from Thor, closing her eyes, and teleporting to the library felt like a catharsis.

Once she was back in the familiar halls lined with full bookshelves, she immediately set off toward her next goal. Teleportation and energy projection were two vastly different disciplines that combined in an unlikely manner, and now that she had obtained a fairly strong grasp on both, she began working on their intersection. With that in mind, she selected a hefty volume covered in dust: The Art of Illusion. When she moved to place the book on the table, she was shocked to find a black snake, looking up at her, tongue flickering between its lips.

_What is the protocol for this? Is there a protocol for this?_

The snake transformed before she could react. She dropped the book with a loud thud which only she heard because Loki had cast a sound shield around her as he shapeshifted.

“Illusions, huh?” he asked, gesturing at the book. “Perhaps you should learn shapeshifting first. Manipulating your energy into a shield or a weapon is one thing. Carefully sculpting a convincing object is another.”

“Why are you doing this? Don’t you have better things to do?” Cathrein hissed, trying to keep within the permitted noise levels of the library.

“Like what?”

“Like Amora.”

That elicited a genuine chuckle. Cathrein only glared.

“I am supposed to be your peer tutor for the rest of this semester,” he noted. “And I wanted to use that book you’re holding.”

_Shapeshifting was placed before illusions in the curriculum. There is a logical, didactic reasoning to this and I’m listening to that. Not him._

“Fine, but only because this is mutually beneficial,” Cathrein decided, handing him the volume she had dropped in exchange for a book on shapeshifting that had just appeared in his hand.

They sat on opposite sides of the table. Cathrein pored over the introductory chapter, which described how to shift one’s appearance but not their physical shape. She found this first lesson simple, and managed to transform rather convincingly into a shorter version of Daphne. As she was doing this, Loki was focused solely on creating a convincing illusion of Odin’s ravens. The birds themselves looked natural, but the way they moved still seemed manufactured. He groaned in frustration every time he tried, because he just couldn’t get it quite right.

Soon, both were stuck on something. Loki could not get his illusions to appear alive, and Cathrein could not change her shape or stature no matter how hard she tried.

“So how was your date with my brother?” Loki asked, sitting down in a chair next to the desk.

“Why do you care?”

“It seems we could both use a break, and he’s never courted anyone before, so I’m curious as to how much of a disaster it was.”

_Go be an annoying pompous asshole somewhere else, please._

“It wasn’t a disaster in the least,” she replied. “He took me walking around campus, and we had a nice lunch. The conversation was smooth and enjoyable. It was, overall, a great experience.”

“He didn’t take you off campus?”

_I was hoping he would, but…_

“No. I’m not allowed—”

Loki interrupted with a snort. “Such a stickler for the rules. The fearless God of Thunder, afraid of the Academy administration.”

Cathrein rolled her eyes. “He’s just trying to keep me out of trouble.”

“Once you learn how to shapeshift properly, that won’t be an issue,” he responded with a smirk.

“I can’t seem to be able to change my shape, just my features,” she explained.

“I noticed.”

“Can you… teach me?” she asked, in almost a whisper. She still hated asking for help, especially from him, but he had never once said anything purely malicious and she was beginning to trust his expertise.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He helped walk her through the steps and commented on all of her mistakes as she attempted to shift into various people and animals. She learned over the course of several hours, first transforming into people she knew, then bending her form to fit different animals’ bodies. It took everything in her not to take Amora’s form and perform a satirical string of insults.

Once Cathrein had gained the ability to practice without his help, Loki resumed his illusion practice. She took the form of a cat and pounced on the birds once he created them.

“Leave me alone,” he snapped, nudging her feline form away with his foot.

She shifted back. “You never listen when I tell you to leave me alone.”

“You’ve never once told me to leave you alone,” he replied, creating the illusion of the ravens again.

“They’re not breathing.”

He looked puzzled. “What?”

“Your ravens. They don’t look alive because they’re not breathing. Their chests don’t move,” she clarified.

He muttered something under his breath and tried again. They looked perfectly real this time. Cathrein kicked them out of existence before he had time to revel in his accomplishment.


	5. Intent vs. Perception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scales have been tipped. It is only a matter of time before the balance is lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): one kiss  
> Note(s): This story is not going to live up to its rating for a while yet, but once it gets there _it will get there_.

Cathrein found herself returning to the library every afternoon. Loki wasn’t there every day, but when he was, they would talk about seidr and exchange tips. She had started her visits hoping that he wasn’t there, but after a few weeks she was slowly beginning to hope that he was. They had formed an unlikely friendship that existed only for those few hours every day spent exploring seidr together in the library.

During classes and in the public domain, Loki and Amora fawned over each other relentlessly. Cathrein still elected to sit as far away from them as possible, but she began to offer to demonstrate again. The further ahead she was in her studies, the more confident she became. Everything being taught in her classes seemed easy compared to what she was doing in the library.

Over the weekends, she would go on dates with Thor. The dates always took place on campus and were more friendly than romantic. The pair would walk and talk, comparing their weeks and discussing their friends. Thor seemed happy to just have Cathrein’s company, but she was beginning to tire of having to spend every weekend walking to the same places with the same person.

* * *

The balancing act that was Cathrein’s life at the Academy had been stable for almost a month, which—according to the fates—meant that it was time the scales were tipped again. The decisive moment took place on a brisk autumn Saturday, on one of Cathrein and Thor’s standard weekend dates.

“Thor, you’re a fourth-year. Perhaps you could take me out to see the Palace District. I haven’t had a chance to explore the city at all,” Cathrein said as the pair walked through the campus gardens. They could probably complete the journey blindfolded; they had taken that very walk more times than they could count.

“I may be a fourth-year, but you are not,” he explained. “Do you not enjoy these walks, my lady? Is my companionship not enough to make this time together interesting?” He seemed almost offended that she might ask him for anything different than what he already had to offer.

_Yes._

“No,” Cathrein sighed. It was pointless to argue with him. “I just thought it would be nice, is all.”

“I will take you once you are old enough,” Thor replied. “Would you like to come spar with me in the arena?”

“Sure. I could use some combat practice,” she replied.

_It’s marginally more interesting than garden walks._

The couple had sparred occasionally over the course of their relationship. Thor always treated Cathrein differently than his other opponents, making sure she remained completely uninjured at the end of it. It was less of a sparring match than a dance. The two would circle each other with weapons and strike at each other’s strongest points as quickly as possible. The end result was a flurry of fighting that looked incredibly advanced but accomplished nothing at all. Cathrein had stopped using her seidr in fights a long time ago, after Thor deemed it dishonorable and emphasized the fact that none of the warrior program students used anything other than brute force.

Thor won this particular fight. He always won. Cathrein ended up pinned to the wall by his wooden hammer while her wooden sword lay abandoned on the other side of the arena. Instead of letting her go and congratulating her on her valiant efforts, Thor decided to lean down toward her. Cathrein just stared as Thor’s face filled her field of vision. She didn’t register what was happening until Thor’s lips touched hers. It was a brief, chaste kiss, but it was Cathrein’s first.

After a few moments of shock, she hesitantly pulled him toward her again for another kiss, just to make sure that it had happened. His lips were slightly dry and his beard tickled her face, but it felt like a milestone.

 _And now I am_ that _much closer to marrying into the Asgardian royal family._

“You are beautiful,” Thor said simply. “I shall see you tomorrow.”

Cathrein nodded, gently pulled her hand out of his, and teleported to the library.

* * *

Loki was not at the library that day. He wasn’t even on the Academy campus. Instead, he sat in the royal conference chamber with his parents, poring over the guest list to one of the most important events of his life.

“You should propose to Amora,” Odin said after a particularly long silence.

Loki responded by nonchalantly adding a name to the list.

“Answer me!” Odin snapped.

“I wasn’t aware it was a question,” came the bored response as Loki crossed out two names.

“Will you propose to Amora or not?” Odin asked. “Is that question enough for you?”

“I will not,” he said.

“In two months, you will become a legal adult,” Odin explained. “It is customary for all adults in an established relationship to—”

“So it wasn’t a question,” Loki quipped back, interrupting his father. Frigga looked down and away.

“And you may not uninvite your brother,” Odin added upon noticing that Thor’s was among the names he had removed.

“Remind me again how this is _my_ name day,” Loki growled.

“Loki, please,” Frigga pleaded. “Thor is part of this family. Tradition dictates that he must attend.”

Loki uncrossed Thor’s name.

Odin opened his mouth to speak, but Frigga’s glare shut him up.

“We shall finalize the decisions tomorrow,” she said. Loki was gone before she finished speaking.

* * *

Cathrein had finally cast a flicker of an illusion. It had taken weeks for her to reach even this point, but she was immensely proud of the small wisp of blue fabric that seemed to float ethereally through the air. A sudden but familiar presence in the room startled her out of her focus, and the wisp disappeared.

“I had _just_ made my first illusion,” she groaned.

“Congratulations, but I had to take revenge for what you did to my ravens,” he replied.

“Where were you?” she asked. He was almost always waiting for her in the library after her dates with Thor. She figured it was because he enjoyed picking apart Thor’s attempts at romance with his signature dry humor. She would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy it, too.

“I wasn’t aware that I needed to account for my whereabouts.”

“You’re always here on Saturday afternoons.”

“I am here now, on a Saturday afternoon.”

_I should have seen that response from a mile away._

“You’re always here earlier than this,” she clarified, regretting her statement once she heard how weak it sounded.

He just shook his head, sat down next to her, and changed the subject. “How was your date with Thor?”

“He kissed me.”

She could swear something flashed across Loki’s face. It passed within milliseconds, but it was there.

“Was he a good kisser?” he asked.

“I have no point of reference,” she replied, then quickly added, “He also said that he wouldn’t take me off campus until my name day.”

Apparently her disappointment was very poorly masked.

“I could take you. Amora always spends weekends with her friends,” Loki said perhaps a little too sharply, “and the administration doesn’t expect third-years to have a good enough handle on teleportation to leave without passing through the gates. No one will know unless you miss dinner.”

“Tomorrow?” Cathrein asked. She didn’t want to seem too eager, but her embarrassment was overridden by the fact that she had been looking forward to seeing Asgard’s most opulent city since she was a young child.

Loki smirked but declined. “I can’t. Next weekend, perhaps. I have things to sort out tomorrow.”

The conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence. Cathrein resumed her illusion practice and Loki focused on creating a double of himself. They occasionally pushed their illusions together so that they overlapped and cancelled each other in a bright spark of energy. For that brief moment of contact, they could feel each other’s seidr. It was a strange sensation, but not altogether unpleasant.

* * *

Halfway through dinner, Cathrein’s entire table of friends burst out into celebration. Thor smiled his charming smile and raised his hammer jovially. Apparently Odin and Frigga had given Thor and Cathrein their blessing, which made their relationship official in the eyes of Asgard. It also meant that marriage was not only allowed but encouraged.  The news of the kiss added fuel to the fire. Even Hogun cracked a smile of support for the couple. Cathrein was the only one to notice that Sif’s happiness seemed almost forced. When dinner was over, the group was too excited about the new developments to notice that Loki and Amora left the hall through different exits.

Cathrein wrote her first letter home to Illisk that night. She spent paragraphs discussing her newfound friends and her relationship with Thor. Another section was dedicated to a list of spells she had learned and their practical uses, just to convince her father that her education was worthwhile. She had considered telling them about Loki as well, but decided against it. She couldn’t describe their relationship even if she tried.

Cathrein was about to collapse onto her bed when Daphne emerged from the washroom brimming with questions.

“So, was Thor a good kisser?”

“I have no point of reference,” Cathrein replied. There was a feeling of deja vu in it all.

“You don’t _need_ a point of reference. You know a kiss is good if it makes you fall in love with him all over again.”

Cathrein rolled her eyes.

_Daphne, such a hopeless romantic._

“I already told you: I don’t do head over heels. By your standards, everyone is a bad kisser.”

Daphne contemplated Cathrein’s response for a bit, then struck a sudden realization. “You’re not in love with Thor.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’ve never once seen you gush about him, you trudge off to your dates on foot instead of teleporting, and don’t think he’s a good kisser,” Daphne explained. After a pause, she added, “You’re only courting him because he’s royal, aren’t you?”

“Go to sleep, Daphne.”

“Oh my gods, you are! Cathrein Teronia, political mastermind. She feels no love for anything other than power,” Daphne declared. “I’d normally be terrified but you’d make a good queen.”

“Very funny,” Cathrein replied. “But even if you’re not going to sleep now, I am. We have classes tomorrow morning.”


	6. Shifting Alliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pressure builds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): swearing, sexual references

It happened Wednesday afternoon. Thor and Cathrein were waiting for the rest of their friends in the cafeteria when a student walked in looking stunned.

“Loki just caught Amora and Fandral together,” he said. Leaning in conspiratorially toward the half-filled dining hall, he added, “They were _making love_.”

Cathrein’s face was the picture of shock and her mind was reeling.

_Amora you fucking bitch!_

“I suppose anyone my brother chooses would be as sly as he is,” Thor said after a pause. “I am not surprised, but I feel for him.”

Daphne, Sif, and the warriors three joined them shortly after. Loki had yet to arrive.

“Why did you do it?” Cathrein asked Fandral the moment he sat down. She tried to keep her tone as neutral as possible to avoid conflict.

“I mean, look at her. She’s far too beautiful for him,” Fandral said with a cocky smile. Cathrein looked down at her food, which looked distinctly unappetizing. The rest of the table seemed slightly uncomfortable, but congratulated him on his new relationship anyway. Daphne had some reservations, but eventually accepted that Fandral was happy and let him be. By the end of lunch, Cathrein was livid and Loki was still nowhere to be seen.

_Be diplomatic. Don’t make a scene. They’re your friends._

Cathrein took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Everyone else was too busy laughing and celebrating to notice. Finally, she just snapped.

“You know, Fandral, I thought you had some semblance of taste.”

“She’s absolutely stunning,” came the reply, as expected.

“Yes, but she doesn’t deserve you or—”

“You’re right. She doesn’t deserve me, but she’s fun. It’s not as if we talk, and she’s never insulted you to my face.”

Cathrein winced. There was a part of her that felt grateful: Amora had been a thorn in her side ever since she arrived at the Academy, and now she had taken a fall from grace. The other part felt something—sympathy, perhaps—for Loki. As much as Cathrein disapproved of their relationship, he and Amora had seemed in love and she could only imagine how heartbreaking the news would have been for him.

“I have to go,” she said curtly, and teleported to the library.

She found Loki immediately; he was holed up in their usual corner with a hefty volume about potions. He sensed her presence immediately and looked up.

“Have you eaten anything?” she asked.

“One skipped meal is not the end of the world,” he snapped, returning to his book.

“I’m so sorry,” she said weakly. “I know she meant a lot to you.”

_Even if she made my life a living hell._

He let out a hollow laugh, meeting her eyes again. “You should be really apologizing for all the pity. Everywhere I go it’s ‘I’m so sorry for what Amora did to you’ and ‘I know you loved her,’” he replied caustically. “You really think I didn’t know? I expected you to be more astute than that.”

“But if you knew, then why did you stay with her?” she asked, taking her usual seat next to him.

“Use that strategic brain of yours and think,” he growled.

_Two princes, vying for one throne. The one more likely to produce an heir has an advantage._

“Then why leave her?”

“If you haven’t figured that one out by now—” he had begun the statement angrily, but his voice cracked at the end and he looked away.

After an uneasy silence, Cathrein stood up to leave.

“Your mother specialized in potions, did she not?” Loki was suddenly back to his usual self, face set in a smirk that promised hours of exciting research.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“My mother told me,” he explained. “Have you ever made a class one truth serum?”

“I have not.”

“Would you like to?”

Yes.

“We have class in five minutes,” she grumbled.

“We could skip.”

“What?”

Loki cast a sound shield around her just before the librarian noticed her loud exclamation. He leaned in and repeated his statement in a whisper.

“We could skip class.”

“We’re not even close to being able to fool the professors with our doubles, especially not from a distance!”

“Just take the detention. You do realize that it’s just spending time in the library with me, right?”

_And not having to listen to my friends talk about Amora and Fandral all night._

Cathrein swallowed as she realized that his face was only centimeters away from hers.

_Daphne was right. I’m not in love with Thor._

“I can’t. I need a good academic record for my scholarship.” Of course, they both knew that having two minor offenses wasn’t going to change Frigga’s mind, but the excuse made more sense than anything else that was happening at that particular moment.

“Am I still taking you to see the Palace District this weekend?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. It was a genuine question.

“Of course. I’ll see you Sunday.”

* * *

Cathrein spent the rest of the week anticipating the weekend. After what felt like an eternity, she found herself strolling through the gardens with Thor. He seemed less confident for some reason, but she let it be. When they stopped for lunch at the top of the hill, Thor addressed her seriously.

“I have arranged for you to join my family for dinner tomorrow night,” he said. “I understand if this is stressful for you, as you and my brother have a strained relationship, but I assure you it will be a pleasant night.”

Cathrein forced a calm smile. “Of course. What time will the event begin?”

“Seven. My mother wanted to show you the sunset view from the palace.”

“Excellent. I shall see you there,” she replied. Thor was grinning ear to ear as he leaned in to kiss her.

“Perhaps you could regale me with tales from your life,” he said after they separated. It was the first time she had played the role of storyteller on their dates.

“Do you know what I did before I came here?” she asked.

“You were the daughter of a butcher, but your art was sorcery, like your mother,” he said.

_Close enough._

“Well, I was actually the hunter of the family. Everyone in Illisk said that it was my brother, but, well, he had awful aim.”

“He should have trained more,” Thor replied immediately.

“Well, his talents were better used at the markets and in the shop. We used to say he could sell ice on Jotunheim,” she explained.

“Yes, but he was a coward to foist the task he could not do unto you when your talents were also elsewhere.” Thor was beginning to get indignant.

“I hunted using my seidr. In fact, most of my expertise in potions making came from my attempts at developing a potion that could tranquilize a bilgesnipe but wouldn’t affect the people eating the meat afterwards.”

“You are a far greater person than your brother,” he insisted.

“I couldn’t have kept the business alive without him. He was the one who could convince almost anyone that fatty bilgesnipe meat was healthy without telling a single lie.”

“But he is just talk.”

“Perhaps I should have told a different story.”

“No, darling, please continue.”

“Darling?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. “What happened to ‘my lady?’”

“You are not simply a lady anymore. You are my darling girlfriend. The term is more romantic, or so I’ve been told.”

_Please tell me he didn’t find Fandral and ask for romance lessons._

“I see,” Cathrein said simply.

“Now tell me the story of your brave hunting quest and your cowardly brother,” he urged.

“He’s not—nevermind.”

“I understand that he is a part of your family, but you must also understand that his actions were cowardly.”

Cathrein wanted to be anywhere but in this conversation, but they hadn’t finished their lunch yet, so she was stuck.

“Perhaps you could give me some advice on how to impress your parents,” she said, hoping her subject change wasn’t too obvious.

“Of course, darling.”

Thor told her that his parents wanted to see them happy together. He never delved into their individual tastes or political agendas; instead, he told her of the palace and what to expect. What surprised both of them the most was Cathrein’s lack of training in royal dining etiquette. The fact that there would be more than one fork per person shocked her more than anything else he said. The mere idea of being served was unthinkable.

“Perhaps I should be a member of the wait staff for the evening. I might feel more comfortable that way,” she joked.

“Absolutely not!” Thor said, looking shocked. “You are my girlfriend and will be treated like a queen.”

Cathrein went over the order of the utensils again while eating her lunch as quickly as possible. She wanted nothing more than for the date to be over so that she could curl up in her favorite chair in the library with a book.

_Or with Loki. No, a book. Don’t complicate things._

Her thoughts were interrupted by Thor telling her that eating too quickly was considered rude and that she should take her time with each course during the dinner. She nodded her acknowledgement while downing the rest of her food.

“I need to tell Daphne about this,” she lied as she stood and readied her teleportation spell. “I can’t wait to see her face when I tell her I’ll be in the royal palace tomorrow!”

She spent the rest of the afternoon reading a book about bilgesnipe anatomy. It was actually a rather fascinating topic, and it reminded her of home. After a couple of hours, she placed the book back in its slot and returned to her room. She had to talk to someone about the new development and Daphne seemed like a good enough candidate.

Daphne was exactly as excited as expected. The fact that Thor called Cathrein “darling” became the centerpoint of the conversation because it was apparently romantic. Here, in their room, Cathrein was the bitter, sarcastic one while Daphne scrutinized the situation for what it was. It was painfully obvious to both girls that Cathrein was on a direct path to becoming a member of the Asgardian aristocracy, perhaps even to the throne. However, the conversation ended on a strained note.

“I hope it’s Thor who gets the throne.”

The comment was Daphne’s attempt at sympathizing with Cathrein’s political agenda, so Cathrein nodded and smiled with diplomatic grace. She fought the pang of guilt that surfaced at her casual agreement to the statement, but to no avail.

“I hope it’s whoever deserves it most,” Cathrein replied. It wasn’t an amendment, but it appeased her somewhat.


	7. Treading Lightly on Foreign Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tipping point has been reached. Something tips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): a very sensual (but also very sfw) chapter

Cathrein was up earlier than usual on Sunday. She didn’t even stop for breakfast before teleporting to the library. Loki was already waiting, impatiently pacing along the aisles of books. He turned to look at Cathrein the moment she arrived.

“There you are.”

“We never agreed on a time,” she said sheepishly.

_I wonder how long he’s been waiting._

“I had little to do this morning. Shall we?” he asked, holding out his hand.

She took his hand and nodded. His seidr snaked out from his fingertips and surrounded her as well, wrapping them both in cool, sparkling energy which slowly focused into a teleportation spell. This was the first time he had ever channeled a spell through her, and it was exhilarating. Cathrein closed her eyes and revelled in the energy. For a split second, during the jump from library to city center, the world was just her and Loki, connected as one.

The moment was broken by a wall of sound. Vendors selling various goods, people talking, loud walkers, and rapidfire bargaining all combined into the sound of the city. She opened her eyes slowly and took in the city. The palace loomed over the square, seeming infinitely tall and impossibly grand. There were more people in this one square than the entire population of Illisk. Cathrein had never even seen ten gold coins in one place, but everything cost at least twice that. She unconsciously tightened her grip on Loki’s hand.

“Welcome to the main square,” he declared. “This is the epicenter of Asgard’s trade.”

Cathrein was more focused on the fact that Loki was still channeling another spell through her, this time a shapeshifting spell. Because they were both enveloped in the shift, they saw each other in their usual forms, but to every outsider they were just two middle-class merchants strolling through a market. The street seemed infinitely long, and every stall had something different to offer. The morning slipped by without either of them noticing. Somewhere between the potions stall and the dagger stall, Cathrein’s stomach growled. It was practically lunchtime already, and she hadn’t eaten since the previous night’s dinner. The smell of food wafting through the air didn’t help.

“Hungry?” Loki asked with a smirk.

“Yes.”

_Why am I suddenly nervous?_

He smirked and said, “Me too. What would you like?” He swept his free arm across the market in a gesture to indicate that nothing was off limits.

“Anything this expensive must be good,” she replied, noting the prices listed on every stall. “You choose.”

“That’s what bargaining is for,” he explained, walking up to a seafood vendor.

“A shrimp skewer, a large piece of salmon, and half a dozen clams, please,” he told the vendor in a picture of confidence.

“That’ll be sixty gold coins,” came the gruff response.

Cathrein felt a flicker in the shapeshifting spell and realized that Loki had exposed his princely appearance to the vendor.

“I would ask that you reconsider your offer.” His voice had dropped into a lower register, and every word was dripping with power. It sent shivers up Cathrein’s spine.

“Of course,” the vendor replied, looking down. “Fifteen gold coins, your majesty. That’s all I can do without losing my livelihood.”

Loki wordlessly handed over the requested amount and left with a basket of fresh seafood. Cathrein eagerly lifted the cloth covering the food and looked at it. Illisk was a landlocked town, which meant that seafood was rare and incredibly expensive.

_Smells good, looks strange._

“I assure you it is both safe and delicious,” he said, reading her apprehension, “but if you prefer, that stall sells bilgesnipe.”

“I trust you, but I’m curious as to what expensive bilgesnipe is like.”

When they neared the stall, they could see that there was small text under the large “Roasted Bilgesnipe For Sale” sign that read “Sourced from Illisk.” They gave each other a knowing look.

“Where in Illisk is your meat from?” Cathrein inquired, curiosity getting the better of her.

“It’s artisanally hunted bilgesnipe from a very small shop called Raolon Teronia Exotic Meats. They have a very limited supply of the fattiest bilgesnipe. It’s excellent for roasting. Most of what they catch goes directly to the palace kitchen, and we get what little is left,” the vendor explained.

Cathrein broke down into tears of laughter, Loki chuckled along, and the vendor stared at them both, completely confused. They ended up ordering one portion and adding it to their basket.

 _I have to write a letter home. It seems the family business has paradoxically_ improved _since I left._

Their food gathering expedition ended after they acquired some fresh roasted fall vegetables from a farmer’s garden stand. Loki then stowed the basket in a pocket to another dimension, just so that they wouldn’t have to carry it wherever they went.

“One last thing,” Loki said, mischief glinting in his eyes. He tightened his grip around Cathrein’s hand and reinforced their shapeshifting spell.

“What?” Cathrein asked as he kept walking at their usual pace.

“This.” A flick of his hand and a spark of seidr later, Loki was holding a bottle of fine Asgardian wine.

“It’s illegal for us to be here, it’s illegal for us to drink, and it’s illegal for you to steal,” she admonished.

“But this’ll be such fun,” he replied. The grin that spread across his face was infective. Cathrein tried to resist, but found herself smiling too. There was something distinctively exciting about breaking the rules with him. He placed the bottle into the same pocket as the basket and led her away from the market.

“We’re _walking_ to our destination?” Cathrein gasped, feigning incredulity. “Where is Loki and what did you do to him?”

“I presume you haven’t seen the ocean before,” he remarked, ignoring her question. She nodded in response.

“We’re walking because I want to,” he said. There was an air of finality in his tone.

Cathrein wasn’t complaining. She could spend an eternity walking through the constantly shifting views and never be bored. The breeze picked up as they neared the ocean, but the warmth of Loki’s seidr intertwined with her own kept her comfortable. There were no words to be exchanged during this journey; they were together but separate, seeing the world in their own way while sharing each other’s company. After about two kilometers, they rounded a corner of the palace faced the Bifrost itself. The rainbow bridge was even more spectacular than Cathrein had imagined, and her mouth fell open in a gape once she registered the sight.

“This is… wow,” was all she could say.

Loki was more focused on her reaction than the bridge itself.

“I can see the Bifrost from my room in the palace,” he explained. “I’ve seen it more times than I can count.”

They stood there for a few moments so Cathrein could fully take in the view, then proceeded to head down the steep almost-cliff that lead to the ocean below. Their destination turned out to be a small cave halfway down to the water. It was isolated and shielded them from the wind. Loki pulled a large green blanket, the basket, and the bottle out of the dimensional pocket and placed them on the ground. The tension and drama of the Academy faded away as Cathrein sat down on the soft blanket, dragging Loki with her. He finally released her hand, breaking the seidr connection between them and cancelling the shapeshifting spell they had shared. They scooted closer to each other to make up for the lost contact.

After a few moments of silence, they both reached for the basket of food. It only after the first bite of bilgesnipe that she remembered how hungry she was. Loki was slightly more dignified about his eating, breaking things off in manageable chunks and placing them delicately in his mouth.

“So,” Loki began, tugging the cork out of the bottle of wine with his seidr, “how was your date with Thor?”

“He invited me to dinner with you and your family, but I’m sure you’re already aware of that,” Cathrein replied with a shrug.

“What?” A flurry of emotions flashed across his face, and she immediately regretted starting with that particular detail.

“I thought you knew,” she replied softly, not knowing what else to say.

“Well then, congratulations, Cathy,” he all but snarled, looking away. “Welcome to the family, _sister_.”

_Everything about this seems wrong._

Cathrein tried to laugh it off and it worked, but only because neither of them dared pursue the topic further. There was another lull in the conversation, during which Loki poured both of them some wine and handed her the shrimp skewer he had been holding. It was alarming how easily he could set his face back into its default smirk and push away the emotions that had surfaced.

Cathrein held up her glass and the skewer, looking back and forth between them. When she saw Loki’s confused face, she explained her dilemma.

“I haven’t tried either of these things and I don’t really know which one to try first.”

“You’ve never tried shrimp?” Loki was incredulous. Cathrein shook her head, blushing slightly.

“Illisk is landlocked. I’d never even seen the ocean until today.”

“Try the wine first, then the shrimp. I selected them as a pairing,” he said.

“Well then.”

Just to annoy him, she dipped the shrimp directly into the glass of wine. Loki immediately responded by casting an impenetrable force field to prevent the two from touching. The look on his face was priceless.

“Never do that again,” he growled. It was the same intimidating voice he had used with the vendor.

_I’d do it again just to hear you tell me not to. Norns, what has gotten into me? That didn’t even make sense._

She ultimately decided on the wine first, though it hardly mattered. They were both delicious, and there was enough for more than just one taste of each. The food and wine was gone in what felt like minutes. After a couple glasses of wine, they were beginning to unravel.

“I’ve heard that Amora and Fandral call each other ‘dearest lovebird’ and ‘darling warrior,’” Loki said, trying to keep a straight face.

It wasn’t really that funny, but Cathrein found herself laughing so hard she fell sideways onto Loki.

“Well Thor called me ‘darling’ yesterday,” she said, having completely forgotten the fact that the date was an off-limits topic.

“Did you know that ‘darling’ is actually derived from an old Midgardian word for ‘minion?’” he asked. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“No, it does not,” she agreed.

“‘Cathy’ doesn’t suit you either. It’s a rather ladylike name and you are anything but.”

Cathrein responded with a lazy shove, made weaker by the influence of the alcohol.

“Well then, since you’re so enlightened, what should I be called?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

He thought for a moment.

“Reina,” he declared his expression softening. “It means ‘queen’ in a very specific region in Midgard. And you will be a queen, Reina.”

She pulled her head off of his shoulder to look him square in the face.

_There’s probably some reason why I shouldn’t say what I’m going to say next, but who cares?_

“I hope you get the throne,” she whispered, leaning toward him.

_I should really stop leaning before I do something I’ll regret._

She didn’t stop, but neither of them felt any regret when their lips touched.


	8. The Dangers of Playing Both Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cathrein seriously needs to make a decision. Feel free to yell at me for this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): one particularly intense kiss

_So this was what Daphne was gushing about._

Loki’s lips were soft, and Cathrein couldn’t help but run her tongue over them to taste him. He took this as an invitation to open his mouth, which destroyed any reservations either of them may have had. Cathrein’s hands snaked behind his neck and into his hair to pull him closer while Loki wrapped his arms around her, moving her so she was straddling him. The kiss deepened still, but they still wanted more—they wanted to meld completely together. Their tongues delved furiously into each others’ mouths, exploring and tasting with fervor. Every move they made was a silent plea for more, to close any and all distance between them. Cathrein initiated the seidr connection this time, pushing their energies together to reform the bond they had shared for most of the outing. Something about this felt right, but the fact that it did felt wrong.

_Whatever happened to not overcomplicating things?_

Neither of them wanted this moment to end, but the need for oxygen soon took over. Cathrein was the one to pull away.

“Loki—”

“We shouldn’t have done that,” he said. His tone was harsh; Cathrein looked away so he wouldn’t see the tears brimming in her eyes.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Cathrein made some pathetic excuse about preparing for the night’s dinner and teleported back to her room at the Academy. Daphne was waiting in their room when Cathrein arrived.

“I’ve laid out five dresses for you to choose from. This first one is more—” Daphne stopped speaking once she noticed Cathrein’s sullen expression.

“What’s wrong?” Daphne asked, immediately concerned.

“Nothing. Just a little nervous,” Cathrein replied, forcing a smile.

“So this first dress is more elegant. It should suit Odin’s more traditional tastes, but Thor might be a bit bored by the view,” Daphne explained, pointing out details on the dress as she spoke.

_I have eyes, Daphne. I know what the dresses look like._

“I’ll take number three,” Cathrein said, pointing at a sleek black dress with silver accents. She sighed in relief when Daphne didn’t argue.

It turned out that hair, makeup, and various other beautification rituals took quite some time. Cathrein had actually been correct in saying that she had to start preparing for the dinner because it was almost sunset when they finished.

“You look like a princess!” Daphne squealed when Cathrein spun around to showcase her look for the night.

 _A queen._ Thor’s _queen._

“Thank you, Daphne. I should get going.”

“Tell me all about it when you get back!”

“I will,” Cathrein assured.

The teleport to the palace was simple. She had visited the Bifrost, so she decided to just land there and walk, just to ensure that she wouldn’t end up stuck in a wall. The main doors to the palace were tall enough to tower over the tallest building in Illisk. Knocking would do no good, so she took the risk and teleported blindly past them into a giant hallway. It was completely empty. A few minutes later, a flustered servant found her.

“Cathrein Teronia?” she asked, her voice sharp and mouselike.

“Yes, that’s me,” Cathrein replied, looking the servant up and down.

“Please follow me to the dining hall.”

It was a long walk, longer than any indoor walk Cathrein had ever taken. Every hallway was decorated with different gold patterns, and every step they took rung with importance. When they finally arrived, Cathrein was sure her feet would have blisters from the beautiful but impractical heels she was wearing.

“I present to you, Cathrein Teronia,” the servant declared with a flourish.

Cathrein took the last remaining seat at the table, next to Thor. She was also across from Frigga, who smiled warmly at her.

“My dear, please do eat,” the Allmother said, gesturing to the plate full of food.

“I hope I haven’t kept you all waiting,” Cathrein said politely, selecting the outside fork and knife for this first course. She avoided looking at Loki as much as possible.

“Of course not, dear,” Frigga replied.

They ate in strained silence for a bit before Odin asked the inevitable.

“Lady Teronia. I must say your name is rather unconventional. Where is it from?”

“My father is from Vanaheim, and we are not aristocrats so we do not adhere to the convention of appending ‘son’ or ‘dottir’ to the end of our father’s name. My father’s family name was Teronia, so it is mine, too, your majesty,” she explained.

Odin looked to Thor this time.

“What do you see in this girl?” The friendly tone he had adopted when speaking to Cathrein was dropped entirely when he spoke to Thor.

“She is beautiful and strong, and she makes me happy. That is all that matters,” Thor replied with total confidence.

“Having Thor wed a commoner would help improve public opinion,” Loki added. “There have been some complaints about taxes again.”

_Wait, what? Why are you arguing for me?_

“I trust Thor’s judgement,” Frigga said, looking intently at Odin. “You should too, considering.”

Odin nodded at that. Loki stiffened. Another silence ensued.

“This is a beautiful palace,” Cathrein said, trying to make conversation, “and the food is phenomenal.”

“Thank you,” Frigga said graciously. “We actually import our bilgesnipe from your brother’s butcher shop.”

It took real physical effort for Cathrein not to look at Loki and burst out laughing. Instead, she decided to reply diplomatically.

“I’m glad. We’re honored to have been selected.”

The conversation soon shifted to Thor and his expectations.

“Cathrein would be a very suitable queen of Asgard,” Thor stated. Odin nodded.

“That is, if you become king,” Loki all but snarled. “Diplomacy was never your strong suit.”

“That is where Cathrein comes in,” Thor said triumphantly. “The people will love her and respect me. She can be a vessel for any commands that may seem harsh. How could anyone hate or fear a face like that?”

“We can work together for the good of Asgard. I can provide strategic and political insight when it is needed,” Cathrein added with a soft smile.

“You will not need to concern yourself with such troubling matters. If I become king, it would be my responsibility to shoulder the burden of politics,” Thor replied. He had meant the statement to be reassuring.

To say that the dinner was awkward was an understatement. Thor, of course, thought it went well. His parents had approved of his girlfriend, who had followed the rules of royal etiquette perfectly.

When the dessert was finished, Cathrein was ready to teleport back to her room and fall asleep immediately. However, Frigga had different plans.

“Cathrein, may I speak with you personally?” she asked, lightly grabbing Cathrein’s hand.

_I don’t particularly want to, but who am I to disobey the Allmother?_

“Of course.”

Frigga led her down another long hallway to a smaller, cozier room with a fireplace. There were two fancy chairs facing the fireplace, and both women took a seat.

“My dear, something is troubling you,” the Allmother stated. She kept her tone completely objective and free of judgement.

_I really need to work on my acting skills._

“I was just a bit… nervous,” Cathrein replied. It was a dull excuse, but she had used it before with success.

“Tell me, dear, what is it you see in Thor?” Frigga asked.

“He is honorable and strong,” Cathrein began, “and he always fights for what he believes in. I admire his resolve.”

Frigga smiled at that.

“What do you see in Thor that you don’t see in, say, Hogun?”

_An opportunity for political gain, but I obviously can’t say that. They look different? But to say that he’s handsome would be an insult to Hogun._

“He’s… he’s just different. He’s Thor. There’s a certain amount of gravitas to that and I’m drawn to it, I suppose.” Cathrein was cringing internally by the time the sentence ended.

_Well I suppose I just found the most diplomatic way to say “I just want the political position that comes along with him.”_

Frigga, of course, saw straight through her roundabout phrasing.

“I truly love Odin,” the Allmother began. “You may find that strange, considering as we have such different personalities, but I do. If you were to ask me what I loved about him, I could talk for hours and still have more to say. Without that love, I would be a burnt out husk of a woman. Being Asgardian royalty takes everything out of you. The person you go home to needs to put everything back into you before the sun rises again. I cannot speak for you, my dear, but something tells me that Thor is not that person.”

“I care for him, I really do,” Cathrein replied, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Love takes time. I will notice more things to love as we spend more time together.”

“As long as you understand what you are getting into.”

Cathrein nodded. Frigga returned the gesture and stood. Cathrein followed shortly after, and they walked together to the main doors where the rest of the family was waiting.

“Thor, Cathrein suggested that spending more time together would be nice,” Frigga said. There was something conspiratorial about her voice. “Perhaps you should increase the duration of your dates together. I could always grant you permission to leave the Academy.”

Thor immediately perked up. “I could take her to the countryside! The city is so stifling and it’s all just markets and overpriced food. We could go riding together through the woods. It would be like one of our garden walks, but extended.”

“She’s lived in a forest town for her entire childhood,” Loki remarked snidely after Thor was finished, “but what do I know?”

Everyone bit back a gasp, resulting in a strained silence.

“It’s getting late. I should return to the Academy,” Cathrein said after what felt like an eternity. No one felt like prolonging this event, so they exchanged curt goodbyes and parted ways.

Daphne was waiting for her in the room practically bursting with all of the questions she had, but Cathrein was not in the mood to answer any of them.

“It went as expected,” was the only answer Daphne received.

* * *

The next day was a standard Monday, and Cathrein was actually excited to go to her classes for once. They provided her with routine and tedium, which provided much-needed contrast to the tumultuous events of the weekend. After her classes were over, Cathrein immediately teleported to the library out of habit. Fortunately for her, Loki had chosen not to visit the library that day.

* * *

Unfortunately for her, Loki had chosen not to visit the library that _week_.

_I need to fix this._


	9. The Importance of Intelligence Agencies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cathrein makes a decision, and faces the political fallout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): an even more intense kiss, swearing, #OdinsA+Parenting

Cathrein found herself genuinely looking forward to her date with Thor that Saturday. She realized this fact when she found herself pacing the garden waiting for Thor. He looked as surprised as she was when he arrived to find her waiting.

“Darling, it’s good to see you in this setting again,” he said with a smile. “Mother has granted us permission to leave campus if you wish to do so.”

“I would be happy to, but at a later date,” Cathrein replied.

_Today, I just need the standard procedure to finish as quickly as possible so I can advance my agenda._

They went through the motions of their weekly picnic date and discussed various mostly boring details of their lives. Thor was still trying to make his daily training seem exciting, but they both knew that school was school. His sparring and fighting was a form of assessment, and there was no glory in passing a test.

The lunch was over in record time. They were both trying to avoid the topic of the previous weekend’s dinner, and neither of them could find anything interesting to say. Their schedules had been consistent for a while now, and their friend groups were set. There were no new developments in their lives, which somehow meant that there was nothing to talk about.

When it came time to part, Cathrein asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for the entire week.

“Is your brother all right? He usually spends his afternoons in the library, but I haven’t seen him for a while.” She tried to make her tone as casual as possible.

“He’s taken up sparring in the arena,” Thor replied. “It seems he is becoming a man.”

Cathrein nodded and teleported to the arena. The main fighting ring was filled with people. Sif was fighting several people at a time, while the warriors three were embroiled in a fight between five disparate groups of students. There was no way Loki would spend hours in such an environment, so Cathrein headed down the arena hallway to the smaller training rooms. She found him alone, dressed in his light armor, fighting his own illusions using daggers made of pure energy. He could feel her seidr as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

“Leave,” he snarled, turning to face her.

“I just wanted to talk,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“Leave.” He left little room for argument.

“I’m sorry, ok? Can we just go back to being friends? I miss seeing you at the library, and—”

“Friends?” he asked, cutting her off. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

“We can’t be friends,” he sighed. There was a small crack in his stoic facade, and she saw it immediately.

“Can we still learn seidr together? I’ve gotten better at illusions over this past week,” Cathrein said, softening her tone.

“I can’t share my seidr with you and listen to you talk about your dates with Thor while pretending that I… just go.”

Cathrein knew there was nothing more she could say, but she didn’t want to leave the room. It hummed with his seidr, a feeling she had grown accustomed to and found herself missing after a week without seeing him. He didn’t move either. They both stared at each other, knowing that this would mark a change in their relationship no matter what happened next. Cathrein was the one to finally break the silence.

_This isn’t how it ends. It can’t be._

“Thor and I had almost nothing to talk about today,” she said.

“And why should I care?” he snapped, moving to turn away.

Cathrein stepped forward to grab his arm.

“Because I don’t love him.”

_It was always you._

His expression was one of pure shock.

“What?”

“I don’t love him. I don’t think I ever have, to be completely honest about it. I thought you knew, considering how I’d always complain about Thor’s pathetic attempts at romance,” she explained.

“Then why did you agree to court him?”

“As you said, I would be a queen if he were chosen as king,” she said, “and even if he weren’t, I would still have significant political and financial power.”

“Then why tell me this? You do realize you’re jeopardizing your chances with Thor, right?”

“Because I have a chance at the best of both worlds,” she said, looking Loki square in the eyes.

“Do elaborate.” There was a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Loki Odinson, may I have the honor of your courtship?” she asked, putting on her best posh royal accent.

He responded with a kiss. There was nothing gentle about it this time, they were both beyond that. It was a matter of seconds before Cathrein’s back hit the wall and Loki’s hands wandered under her shirt. They couldn’t get enough of each other, even with their tongues down each other’s throats and their hands roaming every inch of skin they could find. Cathrein hooked a leg around his waist so they could grind their hips against each other, savoring the friction of his growing hardness against her core.

They were interrupted by the door opening.

“What the hell is going on here?” Sif was standing in the open doorway angrily brandishing a wooden spear.

They both pulled away from each other as quickly as possible.

“We were enjoying ourselves before you arrived,” Loki said with a smug grin.

“I’ll tell Thor all about it then,” she said caustically.

“Please don’t tell Thor. Not yet. I need to be the one to tell him,” Cathrein pleaded. “I didn’t mean for it to go this way, really.”

Sif ignored her completely and stormed off.

Cathrein looked at Loki.

“As much as I’d like to continue, I have damage control to do,” she said. He gave her a smile and a nod and she teleported to Thor’s room.

It was empty.

_Where is he? Oh, shit._

By the time she landed back at the main fighting ring, Sif had already told Thor everything. He looked at Cathrein, shook his head, and walked off with Sif, muttering something about how practicers of seidr would always be liars and tricksters in the end. When she returned to the small training room, Loki was gone.

* * *

“What you did was disgraceful,” Odin said, out of the blue.

“What?” Loki said, surprised by the Allfather’s sudden declaration.

“Kissing your brother’s intended,” Odin explained, as if it were obvious that he would know about events that happened less than two minutes ago in the Academy.

“You never told Fandral what a disgrace he was,” Loki remarked, grabbing one sample invitation and placing it in the center of the table as his selection. “As for the task at hand, it seems I have successfully completed it. If you need anything else—”

“Loki!” Frigga interrupted. “Sit down. We have more to say to you.”

Loki made huge event of rolling his eyes and collapsing into his chair.

“Well go on then,” he sighed.

“You are still a member of the royal family, and our image must remain strong and untainted,” Odin said. “We cannot tell the realm that you were the reason for the end of Thor and Cathrein’s relationship, so we will blame her. You will cease all contact with Cathrein Teronia and remove her from the invite list to your name day ceremony, understood?”

Loki’s face fell, and Frigga gave him a sympathetic look.

“Of course,” he said, chuckling darkly. “You never really address problems, do you? You just cover them up with gold-plated lies. The reason for the end of Thor and Cathrein’s relationship was incompatibility, but you couldn’t let him lose his reputation as a perfect prince with no flaws whatsoever, could you?”

Frigga softly shook her head, silently pleading with him to let Odin have this one.

“Loki, Cathrein is not a loyal woman. Associating with the disloyal is never a good practice. She should never have—”

Loki cut Odin off before he could finish.

“Considering your willingness to cover everything up, you could have simply hidden the information about her unfaithfulness to Thor and framed it as a proper breakup, sparing all of us this avoidance business,” he snarled.

“That would place some of the blame unfairly on Thor,” Odin explained.

“Unfairly? Who was the one who failed to keep Cathrein entertained on their dates together? Who was the one who treated her like a docile little lady?”

“Loki, enough,” Frigga said sternly.

“You can’t take her away from me.” Loki had intended the statement as a command, but it came out as a half-plea.

“She is not yours,” Odin replied, grabbing the invitation list and striking Cathrein’s name. “My decision is final.”

Loki sighed. “When will the invitations arrive at the Academy?”

“On the last day before winter break,” Frigga said, “first thing in the morning.”

Loki left without a word and found himself in the library for the first time in a week. Cathrein was sitting in her usual chair reading a book about illusions.

“Surprise!” came a voice from behind him. He quickly turned to find another copy of Cathrein staring straight at him. He glanced back and forth between the two, the pulled the book out of the hands of the seated Cathrein.

“You _have_ improved,” he said, and she blushed slightly, waving her hand to cancel the standing illusion of herself.

“But you could still tell,” she sighed.

“Only because illusions can’t hold books,” he replied, handing the volume back to her.

“I should have levitated the book in my illusion’s hands,” she said. “Then I’d have had you fooled.”

They both shared as smile, but Loki’s expression faded quickly.

“Reina, I have something to tell you.”

 _Reina. I like the sound of that. Every time he says it I’m reminded that I’m_ his _._

“What is it?”

“My father doesn’t approve,” he said, looking dejected.

Cathrein fought the urge to laugh.

“I’d expect nothing less from him.”

“You don’t want me to go?” he asked.

“Why would I ever want that?”

“Because my father—”

“If I gave up every time someone’s father disapproved of something I did, I’d probably be dead,” she replied, grabbing his hand and pulling him down so he was sitting on the arm of her chair.

The two of them sat like that for a bit, contemplating their new situation with smiles on their faces.

“Lokes,” Cathrein said after a few minutes.

“What?” Loki asked.

“I should call you Lokes, considering as you call me Reina. It’ll be our thing,” she explained.

“I hate it,” he said, but his voice was neutral.

“No you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, if you hate it so much, you could leave. Your father would be so proud of you for it,” she replied with a grin.

Loki rolled his eyes.

“I won’t leave you, Reina.”

“Then trust me when I say that I won’t leave you either.”

 


	10. Paradigm Shifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are fickle creatures, aren't they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): kissing, some mild swearing

They had lost track of time. Loki was a show-off when it came to seidr, and the fact that he had recently acquired the ability to cast immersive three-dimensional illusions meant that he spent the rest of the afternoon and evening taking Cathrein on virtual tours of the nine realms. He showed her the lush landscapes of Vanaheim, the metropolitan cities of Midgard, the icy wasteland of Jotunheim, and more. The final destination, of course, was Asgard from above—the view from his room on the top floor of the palace.

He had planned the timing perfectly in his head. The tour would end when dinner began. He had not accounted for Cathrein, who decided that this was the perfect moment to kiss him again. The illusion dissolved along with his resolve, and they found themselves tangled up in a passionate make out session on the library floor. The fact that they were in the library made it all the more exciting.

“Reina,” Loki said as he trailed kisses down her neck, “my Reina.”

“Odin,” Cathrein said, softly but assertively, “this is a declaration of war.”

Loki pulled away from her neck to look her in the eyes.

“Oh yes,” he said in that deep, growling voice that she loved. He then pulled her toward him and covered her mouth with his.

The kiss could have lasted forever or an instant; they wouldn’t have known the difference. When they finally broke for air, they realized that the sun had set completely and the library was getting ready to close. They hadn’t noticed when the evening had begun to transition into night, and they found themselves unfazed by the fact that they had missed dinner completely.

“Lokes,” Cathrein said, looking around. “As much as I like seeing you disheveled and aroused, it’s probably not the best idea to have the librarian find you like this.”

Loki chuckled at her choice of words, and they reluctantly extricated themselves from the other’s grasp. The feeling of connection between them didn’t fade until Cathrein landed in her room.

“Oh. My. Gods. Tell. Me. Everything.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Cathrein sighed.

“At least admit that I was right. You didn’t love Thor,” Daphne insisted. “Cathy, come on! I was right, wasn’t I? But I would have never expected you to go for _Loki_ instead. I mean, he was _Amora’s_ boyfriend or did you already forget that because you’re so _in love_?”

_Kill me now._

“I said, ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’”

“But what about the whole political thing? What about being queen and Allmother? You really think Loki’s getting the throne, because let me tell you, my father is a lord and boy does that court talk—”

“Shut up, Daphne!” Cathrein yelled, taken aback by her own anger. “Just leave it.”

Daphne’s expression softened.

“You know, you’re going to get questions, and lots of them. You can’t tell everyone to shut up.”

“I know,” Cathrein said, “but I can tell _you_ to shut up.”

Daphne didn’t have a response for that.

* * *

In front of the Academy Cathrein played the part of the manipulative, power hungry witch, and Loki played the victim. They hated their pretend dynamic, but there was little they could do about it. Odin had spread the rumors far and wide, and everyone believed them. Why would they not? It was easy to believe that Loki was desperate for a rebound after Amora, and that the poor girl from Illisk would seek only power and money. It was harder to believe that someone would prefer the reserved, snarky prince over the confident, golden one, or that someone of Cathrein’s status would be deserving of a place in the royal family.

Daphne was the only person from her original friend group who still talked to her, and even then something had changed between them.

_This will not do._

There was only one way to fight rumors: with the truth. Now, the truth was never Loki’s strong suit, so the responsibility fell on Cathrein. She decided that Thor would be the first to know.

She approached Thor after dinner one night.

“I’m probably the last person in the nine realms you’d want to see tonight. I was hoping I’d change that,” she began.

“What is there to change? You betrayed me. You mocked me and humiliated me in front of Asgard so that… so that you could what? See whether my brother’s lips tasted better than mine?” he asked. “Well they didn’t, did they?”

_Oh, they were so much better than yours. But you don’t need to know that._

“It wasn’t about that. I…” she couldn’t find the words to diplomatically describe it. “I genuinely loved him. I enjoyed our dates, but the chemistry wasn’t there. We walked through the garden as friends. Please tell me you felt that too.”

“I truly thought you would make a good match for me,” he said. “I don’t know what I have done to cause you to betray me like that, but I’m glad it happened. Your betrayal showed your true colors.”

“I was going to end it either way. I would have told you an hour later, at most,” Cathrein insisted. “This wasn’t supposed to be a betrayal. I never meant for that to happen.”

“So that was the first time you kissed him,” Thor said, trying to wrap his head around the idea.

_No. And you promised Loki you’d tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth._

“Yes, of course! I would never have an affair. Look, I made a mistake that day. I should have told you first, but I didn’t—and I’m sorry for that, but the past is the past. You must understand that I did not mean for things to go the way they did,” she explained.

Thor sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know what I expected of you, Cathy, but it wasn’t this.”

_I don’t know what I expected of myself, Thor, but it wasn’t this._

“I know, and I’m sorry. I should never have done that to you.”

He turned and left with a huff, but Sif walked up to him and whispered something in his ear. He swiveled his head back to look at Cathrein, gave her a soft nod, and left with Sif.

By the time Cathrein found herself back in the library, her eyes had filled with tears.

“I can’t fix this,” she said softly, slightly startling Loki, whose nose had been buried in a book.

“Am I incorrect in presuming that Thor didn’t take it well?” he asked, a soft smirk playing on his lips.

“Even if we’re together, even if I graduate with full honors, nothing will come of it,” she sobbed, all but collapsing into him.

He tensed for a moment, then hesitantly wrapped his arms around her shaking form.

“Oh I’m not so sure about that. Odin won’t run this place forever,” he said. They both knew what he was implying, and they both knew that it would never be, but they let the fantasy wash over them for one frozen moment.

“What is this?” Cathrein asked as Loki ran his hand along her spine. It was strangely comforting, even though he was making every effort to maintain his casually haughty demeanor.

“What is what?” he shot back.

“Us, namely us not arguing over seidr and insulting the rest of the student body,” she replied.

“Well I have heard that Volstagg—”

“No, stop. I like this. Not always, gods forbid, but I like this. Now. Just being here with you. This… this is my sanctuary.”

_Did I really just say that?_

Loki gave her a few more seconds, then continued with his statement. “Well, Volstagg tried to ask Sif to court him. He says he’s limping because he lost a solo battle with a professor but it’s really because she took out his leg with a wooden sword for even thinking to ask.”

It wasn’t even that funny of a story, but they both started laughing and couldn’t stop. When they finally composed themselves, they were back to their usual routine of library banter.

* * *

Frigga fidgeted with the ring on her finger as she waited for Odin. She could sense the spite radiating from both her sons, and decided that something needed to be done. Odin marched in with a look of regal indignance.

“Why did you call me here at this hour?” he barked.

“You must stop the rumors from spreading,” she said.

“What rumors?” he asked.

“About our son,” she replied, glaring at him. “He still sees her, you know. He tries to hide it, but I am his mother, and it is a mother’s gift to understand her children.”

Odin shook his head.

“This is meaningless drivel, Frigga. Loki has been known to take lovers, but never to keep them. This too shall pass, and the rumors should make it pass more quickly.”

“The poor girl has fought her entire life to make something of herself,” Frigga pleaded. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

“If you cared so much, then why didn’t you bring this up earlier? What’s done is done,” he almost yelled, moving to leave.

“We couldn’t have this argument in front of our son. We are supposed to be a family, doing things together in a united effort!”

“Sacrifices needed to be made.”

“You’ve taken it too far.”

There was a pause as Odin sighed.

“You know I’m right,” Frigga added, “and you know Loki. He’s never cared much for following rules he doesn’t agree with. If you are right about this relationship being nothing but a passing phase, then let it pass.”

“What would you have me do?” Odin asked, his shoulders slumping.

“Let this run its course. If you are right about it being a passing phase, then let it pass naturally. Stop spreading lies about our son.”

* * *

Cathrein sat alone during meals after that day. Part of it was because she didn’t want to face Thor ever again, but she had found that being alone allowed her to plan.

_I probably won’t be able to join the royal family through marriage, but perhaps I could develop a niche but necessary skill set that makes me competitive for an advisor position on the court. I could also switch paths and become a spy or a warrior. Either of those, with enough accolades and medals of honor, can become prominent political figures…_

“You were a terrible match for him.”

Cathrein looked up from her lunch to find Sif looming over her, dressed in full battle armor.

“What?”

Sif rolled her eyes.

“What do you mean what? I was simply stating a fact. You were a terrible match for him,” she said.

“I mean, I already knew that. Why did you have to come over here and tell me?” Cathrein clarified.

“Walk with me,” Sif said. It was more of a command than a statement.

Cathrein glanced at her food, then at the fully armored almost-warrior, and decided to take the walk. Sif led Cathrein to a far corner of campus, secluded from view, the pulled her double-ended sword out from the sheath on her back and pointed it at Cathrein’s neck.

Cathrein responded immediately with a force field around herself.

“Sif, I’m not as easy to kill as you think,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

Sif tested the force field with the tip of her blade. The field held.

“I could kill you if I really tried,” Sif countered as Cathrein smirked from behind the field, “but I won’t. After all, I still need you.”

Cathrein held her defensive position as Sif circled her.

“I am going to tell you something that you cannot tell anyone else,” Sif declared. “Swear it on your life.”

_I’d really rather not._

“I swear it on my life.”

“Good,” Sif said. “I have a proposition for you.”


	11. Stirrings of a Revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone is good at everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): a very heated kiss, super mild violence, super mild swearing

“Teach me sorcery,” the warrior said, her blade held confidently against Cathrein’s force field.

“What?”

“Teach me sorcery. My parents forbade me from learning it. They told me that the only way I could seduce Thor was to be a warrior, like him. They were wrong. We’re both at a turning point in our plans. We can help each other.”

Cathrein considered for a moment.

“Only if you teach me to be a warrior,” she replied, her lips set in a thin line.

“Deal.” Sif sheathed her sword with an audible  _ shlick _ sound and took a step back.

There was a long, awkward pause as Cathrein carefully lowered her force field, still looking Sif square in the eyes.

“So, are you ready to become a sorceress?” Cathrein asked with a growing smirk. “Are you ready to do the womanly thing and drop your hopeless dreams of becoming a warrior? Are you ready to fall into what society wants you to do?”

Sif rolled her eyes and gave Cathrein a playful shove.

“Stop it. I’m still a warrior. A warrior  _ and _ a sorceress. A double edged sword. The most powerful woman on all of Asgard.”

“We’ll see about that.”

* * *

Sorcery was not Sif’s strength. It was obvious why, despite the fact that sorcery was a woman’s craft and fighting was a man’s, she had ended up in the warrior program.

“Can you at least feel your energy reserve?” Cathrein asked, a concerned look etched across her face.

“What is my energy reserve supposed to feel like?” Sif snapped. She hadn’t intended to sound so angry, but she had been trying at it for hours and failing. It didn’t help that Loki was sat at the next table over, perusing an encyclopedia of sorcery and snickering every time she attempted anything.

“Like… energy?” Cathrein offered. “I really don’t know how to describe it. It’s like this piece of you that you can control with your mind. You can expand it into fields, use it to move things, or even manipulate it into a certain image or sound.”

“That’s extremely helpful. I couldn’t have put it better.” Loki’s sarcastic baritone drawl surprised both women, who turned to face him. He hadn’t said a single thing until this point.

“For once, I agree,” Sif said, adding at the last minute, “with the sarcastic interpretation, not the words themselves.”

_ Well there goes my retort. _

Cathrein decided to walk up to Loki instead. Wrapping her arms around his chest, she leaned in to ask, “Well what,  _ oh sorcerer supreme _ , would be the most helpful way to put it?”

“It’s really just your mind. It is your ability to will things into action, instead of using your strength to physically act. Perhaps that’s why you’re so terrible at this. Your mind is weak and small,” he replied with a smirk while toying with an orb of brilliant green energy he had just created.

Sif shot him a glare and Cathrein fought a giggle.

“We’ll see how smug you are once we take this to the arena,” Sif growled as she tried to telekinetically budge a pen lying on the table.

“I make no judgements,” Cathrein responded, her voice level and diplomatic.

“I do,” said Loki.

After about half an hour more of attempted teaching and learning, they decided to move to the arena, leaving Loki behind at Sif’s insistence.

Swords were heavier than they looked. Cathrein had only ever seen trained warriors handling the weapons with grace, so she had expected that they would be light and simple to maneuver. She thought wrong. Even the wooden training swords were made from dense oak, and tired her arms after only a few minutes of sparring drills.

Sif came at Cathrein with a series of vicious slashes. She handled the hefty wooden sword as if it were a thin stick, striking imprecise but powerful blows. Cathrein was forced to remain on the defensive. Although she could see Sif’s moves from a mile away, trying to block or dodge them was like moving through molasses. The wooden sword came down on her shoulder before being thrust toward her stomach. Both blows landed.

_ I could have stopped both with a force field, but no. It’s “not allowed.” _

In a valiant effort to regain the upper hand, Cathrein went on full offense, swinging her sword wildly at Sif and ignoring the onslaught of attacks. This caught Sif off guard, forcing her to take a step back. 

_ I’ll take the small victories. _

It was a short-lived success. Moments later, during a particularly daring move to shove her sword towards Sif’s head, Cathrein suffered a blow to the wrist which sent her sword flying across the floor of the arena.

“I yield!”

“You’re pathetic!” Sif yelled, still in battle mode.

“I guess I am,” came Cathrein’s deadpan response as she bent to gingerly pick her sword up again. “Now, if the ‘no sorcery in the arena’ rule were lifted for a day…”

Sif let out a snort. “Two things, Cathy. One: it won’t be. Two: you’ll still lose.”

“Well you couldn’t use telekinesis to save your life.”

Sif scoffed and looked away. At least Cathrein was lifting the sword and moving it. That was  _ something _ .

“I’ll get there, and when I do, I’ll kick your ass.”

Cathrein smirked.

“I was going to say the same to you.”

Sif picked up her sword again with grace, and Cathrein dove toward her weapon, beginning another round of fighting. It ended with Cathrein lying on the ground under Sif, whose sword hovered mere millimeters from her neck.

* * *

“My prince, there is something waiting for you in your mailbox.”

Loki looked up at the young student.

“You came all this way from my mailbox to tell me that something is in my mailbox?”

“Yes.”

“You couldn’t have simply brought the object in question?”

The student looked both surprised and embarrassed at the same time but finally settled on a reply. “No. It’s standard procedure to tell you in this way. I’m sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused. I just work the night mail shift. It’s for my tuition… I’m rambling. Sorry, my prince.”

Loki rolled his eyes but decided to teleport to the mail center anyway. The mailboxes were arranged in labelled rows, but in no particular order, so it took him a while to find his own. The room itself was dark and silent, as dinner had ended almost two hours ago and all of the official staff had left for the day. He opened his box to find a small envelope. It was from his mother. He opened it and read the enclosed letter in full, then burned both letter and envelope with a bright green flame, smiling all the while. The clock in the mail room read 21:58, so he decided to head back to his room.

He was welcomed not with calm silence but with a groan.

“Reina, what in Hel’s name are you doing here?” he yelled once he realized who was in his room.

“Heal me,” she said, her voice weak but attempting to be commanding.

“What?”

She pulled off the arm guards of her makeshift practice armor and rolled her sleeves up, revealing multiple bruises.

“Heal me.”

Loki’s expression shifted immediately from confusion to concern.

“What happened?” he asked as he cautiously approached her.

“It’s been over a month of combat training from Sif and I’m still as terrible as I was when I started.”

He gently lifted her arm and skimmed his fingers lightly across the bruised skin.

“Reina,” he began.

She sighed.

_ Here’s where he gets all protective and reassuring. _

“You need to learn to heal yourself, and you’re going to learn it now.”

_ Or not. _

She blinked at him. She just wasn’t good at healing. It wasn’t for lack of trying; she had spent a whole afternoon trying to fix a paper cut she had acquired from flipping through a book about healing magic too quickly, but to no avail.

“Now,” he said, his fingers settling on a medium-sized bruise on the back of her right arm, “allow me to demonstrate.”

His fingers began to warm, and a green light seemed to emanate from her bruise. His eyebrows knitted together in intense focus, and she felt the pain and swelling start to subside.

“Here, I’m coaxing your veins to reconnect, and drawing the blood out of the bruise. It’s a very detailed telekinetic operation, but it’s actually quite simple.”

“Quite simple for you, perhaps,” Cathrein shot back.

“Done,” he said with a grin, pulling his hand away and revealing completely healthy skin.

_ Touch me again. _

“Showoff,” she quipped.

“Your turn,” he said.

She focused on a small bruise on her forearm, but nothing seemed to work. She could manipulate her biology, but she didn’t have the intuition to do it correctly. Her veins wouldn’t rejoin correctly, and trying to differentiate blood and flesh was nearly impossible.

“I can’t do it! Ok?” she snapped after ten minutes of futility. “You know what I  _ can _ do? Force fields and energy projections. If I were allowed to use those in combat no weapon would even get close to me!”

Loki’s scrutinizing gaze softened, and he took her arm again.

“Do you just want me to do it for you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Within minutes, both of her arms were returned to their original healthy state.

“There are… um… there are a lot more,” Cathrein explained, her voice almost a whisper as her hands went to the hem of her shirt. “Do you mind?”

“Oh I absolutely do not.”

She lifted the shirt over her head and Loki inhaled sharply. She was dressed in only a bra and peppered with bruises.

“Did you not think about blocking or dodging even once?”

“Loki!” she admonished, giving him a playful shove to the chest. “I’ll have you know I was doing my very best.”

He retaliated by pushing her down onto the bed and pinning her arms.

“Were you really?” His face was centimeters away from hers.

“Yes,” she squeaked.

“Did you come here to be healed or for something else?” he growled huskily.

“Both.”

Their lips met in a fiery kiss with Loki’s hands roaming over Cathrein’s chest and stomach, healing bruises along the way.

“You know,” Loki said between kisses, “you are one strange sorceress.”

Cathrein rolled her eyes. She could feel his growing erection, so she wrapped a leg around his waist to grind against it. He responded immediately, reciprocating the motion. Somewhere in their minds, they knew they should stop before things went too far, but it felt too good to pull away.

_ Just a bit more. Let me have this. _

Loki’s mouth moved off of Cathrein’s lips to trail down her jaw and neck toward her collarbone.

_ We should stop. _

His hand wandered lower, toward the waistband of her combat pants. When it reached the waistband, she grabbed it and pulled it away.

“Sorry,” Loki, said, pulling away to look at her.

“No, it’s ok.”

The silence hung between them.

“I should head back,” Cathrein sighed, pulling him in for one last kiss before getting up and heading toward the door.

“Do put your shirt back on. I don’t think either of us wants the entire school seeing you like this.”

“Right, sorry.”

_ Though I suspect leaving Loki’s room in the middle of the night while blushing furiously is enough to trigger the whole next week of gossip. _

Cathrein’s heart was still pounding when she returned to her room, where she was greeted by Daphne giving her a quizzical look.

“Sif made me fight her,” she explained, gesturing to the practice armor.

“Who won?”

“I did. In fact, I left unscathed.”

Daphne’s eyes then lit up.

“Oh, and how could I forget? You must be so excited?” she exclaimed loudly.

“About what?”

“Loki’s Name Day celebration! The invitations arrived this morning!”


End file.
